Microsoft has officially removed the WMIC utility from Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, requiring administrators to transition their management scripts to the PowerShell Get-CimInstance cmdlet.

Key Points

• Microsoft released update KB5120998 on August 14, 2026, finalizing the deprecation of the WMIC tool.
• The removal is a security hardening measure to prevent attackers from using the signed binary for living-off-the-land attacks.
• Administrators must replace WMIC aliases with specific Win32 class names when using the Get-CimInstance cmdlet.
• Remote queries now require WinRM-based CIM sessions instead of the legacy DCOM protocol used by WMIC.
• Applications interacting with WMI through .NET, COM, or PowerShell remain unaffected by this change.

Why it Matters

This update forces a significant shift in how IT professionals manage Windows environments, moving away from legacy command-line tools toward modern PowerShell standards. Organizations must audit existing scripts and runbooks to prevent service disruptions following the deployment of these Windows builds.